Unchosen

by Jeffrey Cook

  Oh, don't go there, she told herself. Some prophecies just fulfill themselves.

  "We need to get past them!" Noriko called, even as more daemons were rushing into the room, joining the growing half-circle that pinned them against the wall.

  So far, aside from a few scratches, there was no sign that the daemons were getting past Hobie or Noriko's guard, but they also didn't need to. They just had to keep buying Rhalissa time.

  “...spes desperatorum...”

  Nils cursed next to her, as another of his spells faded away. "She's too strong. We need to run," he hissed. He managed a quick incantation, leaving one of the creatures in the front ranks clutching at its eyes.

  "Screw that," Noriko said. "We're only getting one chance." She used the fan to deflect an attack and readied herself.

  "Damn right." Hobie snarled and barreled forward. He drove his spear into the gut of the blinded daemon, continuing to force it backwards, off balance, and following it out into the mass of daemons.

  "Hobie!" Celeste reached, but it was too late. He was out of reach, using the struggling, blind daemon like a plow to force his way forward, pushing closer to the dais and the sword.

  The daemons started to close ranks in behind, turning to attack his back. Noriko slashed at the nearest daemon, cutting it down, and knocking another back to buy the other two a moment to ready themselves. Then she followed Hobie into the fray.

  Celeste did get a brief glimpse, through the break in the ranks, of the dais, the sword, and the witch. Rhalissa turned her attention away from her other spells, focusing in on the boy making progress, and Celeste's mind flashed back to Rhalissa's casual incantation when they entered the room, as Hobie fell. For all the effort she and Nils could put in, Rhalissa was more powerful than she ever remembered the witch being. She really has multiplied her command through the days.

  She tried to focus her mind on the saints, asking them to keep her friends strong and keep the daemons off of them a little longer. Hobie's assault visibly slowed, but at least he didn't fall.

  She kept up that focus, praying louder, as she heard Hobie's voice, some mixture of animal savagery and scream of pain. At least a RAWRing Hobie was a living Hobie.

  Over her own prayers, Celeste heard Rhalissa's voice. “And soon, as the Otherlord completes his absolute ascension, I will indeed have my dearest wish, as the prophecy says: to be WITHOUT PEER!”

  Noriko's scream followed, as she failed to parry fast enough with the fan, and red streaks appeared along an arm where claws raked her flesh. She kept her balance, though, and as one daemon fell before her, she used its body as a launching pad, going over some of the other creatures. Despite her best efforts, she didn't get nearly far enough, landing with far too many daemons still between her and the sword.

  With Rhalissa's attention elsewhere, Nils finally managed to take control of one of the daemonic creatures, which turned just short of snapping its jaws shut on Celeste, turning on its masters instead. That lasted only a few seconds, before it fell, and the daemons closed in.

  Feeling hot breath closing in again, and feeling the presence of the Soul Witch, Celeste's mind grabbed for one last desperate prayer, stammering, “... our souls to keep, and if we die before we wake—” she was interrupted by the first explosion. The walls shook, and dust rained from the ceiling.

  The daemons paused, looking confused. Then there was another explosion, closer this time. The walls shook violently, and stone rained from the ceiling. Light came streaming into the chamber as a particularly heavy block crushed some of the daemons.

  This was too soon. Celeste knew in her heart that good people had just gotten killed—and on their watch. It almost felt that that was all their watch was for, these days.

  Hobie's battle cry pulled her back into the fight. “...spes desperatorum…”

  Two more explosions from above drowned out the fight, and at the second, more of the ceiling collapsed. Rhalissa's spells ceased, as she shouted commands to the daemons, trying to regain order.

  Nils managed to take over another of the chained beasts, turning it on its handlers and adding to the confusion. It also helped keep the daemons off of them while Hobie and Noriko fought their way back through the suddenly disorganized daemonic ranks.

  As another daemon went down, Celeste caught sight of the dais again, with Rhalissa screaming for order, greater daemons closing in to defend her from the unknown threat.

  Then she saw the thing she hadn't expected. With the witch's attention elsewhere, the two slaves that Rhalissa had been using to move the sword had stood. In unison, they pulled Fragarach from the rack. The effort drew screams of pain as they handled the sword, but they still managed to toss it towards Noriko before a daemon noticed what they were doing.

  Celeste breathed a new prayer for more brave men as the daemon took their heads. A good word for their souls was all she could do for them at this point, but at least the sword was out of the daemons' reach. Hobie, looking pale and gaunt, but still fighting, managed to lunge, smashing aside a daemon who attempted to get into Noriko's way. Noriko sheathed her katana and lunged for Fragarach.

  Time almost seemed just a little slower for a moment. Celeste knew Noriko didn't much like taking up the weapons of dead friends, but they all knew she had to keep doing it. And surely, whatever mystic restrictions would have to understand that it was what she was supposed to do. Noriko's fingers started to wrap around the pommel—

  And she pulled her hand out of the way with a strangled cry. Celeste winced in sympathy at the look on Noriko's face. So much for the spirit of the law.

  She watched and prayed as Noriko breathed, then snatched Fragarach back up with a strange keening sound. It took Celeste a moment to realize Noriko was trying to keep her mouth closed around a scream.

  Noriko held on long enough to jump back to the small space Hobie had cleared around him. Nils darted forward while the daemons were distracted, and Noriko dropped Fragarach where he could reach it.

  Nils quickly used the fleece to snatch up the sword, relief showing in his eyes when he could lift it with the magical cloth between his hands and the blade.

  Unfortunately, even as they were figuring that out, the daemons were starting to turn their attention back to the group, while sounds of chaos came from the castle above.

  "Hold on," Noriko told them all, looking up at the hole in the ceiling. She reached for Hobie again, as Celeste and Nils grabbed a tight hold of her together, and Noriko jumped up, with all her bestowed strength, towards daylight.

  24

  Broken

  Nils Bjornsson

  The truck was gone, which wasn't surprising. Large chunks of the castle-to-be were also gone, and the whole structure was in chaos. People were fleeing in all directions, while daemons were trying to track down the saboteurs, round up those fleeing, or just restore some sense of order. More and more daemons were emerging from the chambers below, with the most powerful and intelligent recruiting others into search teams.

  As they started moving, Nils translated the Othertongue that was filling the air. "'Forget the workers. Find the children. Recover the sword.'"

  "Got that impression, thanks," Hobie said.

  "Speaking of which..." Nils made sure the sword was tightly wrapped up in the fleece, being careful not to touch it, even wrapped, with his tainted hand, just-in-case. He started to hand it off to Noriko, out of habit, but she shook her head and cradled her burnt hand.

  "Can someone else manage it, and I'll help Nils out?"

  "I'll get it," Hobie said, taking the carefully wrapped sword. With the help of rope from Celeste's bag, he strapped it over his back.

  Noriko stumbled a couple of times in supporting Nils, struggling with her own injuries. That landing as she’d gotten them all out hadn't felt right, but she wasn't complaining.

  Even so, Celeste eventually filled in for her, helping Nils along as best she could. Hobie wasn't exactly outpacing them either, staggering along and using a cracked
spear as a walking stick. Something was grinding as he moved, and he kept his injured arm tucked in close to his body.

  Nils let Celeste help guide him, turning all of his attention to the incantations to keep them from being noticed as more and more patrols set out in search of them. They also had to move from obstacle to obstacle instead of in a straight line, since the spell worked well for evading casual attention, but was far less effective for hiding them from active searches that knew precisely who they were seeking.

  Despite the danger, and a lot of close calls, they made it to tree cover, and, eventually, put the sounds of the castle-in-progress and its daemonic hordes behind them.

  "Where are we going, anyway?" Hobie asked when they finally felt safe to break and rest. Nils noted that Hobie was as quick to sit as anyone. Not a good sign.

  "To the Avon, and back towards Dorset," Nils said.

  "They'll be looking for us there,” Noriko said.

  “There'll be looking for us anywhere,” Nils said. “So let's use the current confusion to take a boat from the pier in Salisbury.”

  "To go where?" Hobie growled. "Fleece or not, they'll figure it out."

  "We need to get to Ethiopia, so somewhere we can use the stones," Celeste said.

  "Dagny mentioned people sent to warn forces in Germany, and other countries in the South," Noriko said. "Maybe one of them can help. At least enough to protect or destroy the path stones."

  Nils shook his head. "In the shape we're in? That's a long trip."

  "Not that long compared to how far we've come," Hobie said, but it sounded like contrariness for its own sake.

  Nils didn't bother to call attention to Hobie's own difficulty moving. "Yeah, but I can't keep up the spells forever, especially if I'm guiding a boat. Before, no one knew we were coming. Now, they have a pretty good idea where we're at. That changes a lot."

  "So, if not Germany, where are we going in your theoretical boat?" Hobie said.

  "Due South," Nils said. "I have an idea of precisely how to deal with getting rid of the path stones behind us, and it's not all that far."

  Before he could explain further, the sounds of daemonic patrols getting too close for comfort got them up and moving again.

  Observation from a distance confirmed that Salisbury had regular patrols moving around, apparently watching for them. Someone must have gotten there first. It took a while to skirt most of the town and get to the Avon. After that, though, it wasn't too difficult to find a small fishing boat docked near the river.

  "One boat out on the river? It's going to draw attention," Hobie said.

  "We'll keep an eye out and pass population centers quickly as we can. If we can't—" Nils started.

  "I'll climb out and tow the boat across any obstacles?" Hobie asked.

  "We'll figure something out," Celeste said.

  Hobie shook his head, and got into the boat, taking up one oar. "Nah, it's a good plan. We'll move quicker this way. Just do your magic tricks," he told Nils.

  Nils started inscribing runes onto the boat as soon as Noriko helped him into it, forgoing the efforts to help guide or speed the boat along to put all effort into obscuring their presence. After a brief discussion on the priorities, Hobie started out rowing, while Celeste did what she could for Noriko's burnt hand. Nils, even with most of his focus on his spells, couldn't help but hear Hobie's shoulder click now and then while rowing.

  Eventually it was Hobie's turn to be tended to, and Celeste's worried expression grew a lot more intense while she worked. Now, he noted, Noriko managed to keep them moving in more or less the right direction, but she was having trouble managing one of the oars with a bandaged hand.

  When Celeste finished with Hobie on the assembly line of medical emergency, she started in on Nils, and he felt some of the intense pain fade. As he did, he was able to settle in more easily, fatigue staring to fill in where pain faded. “Thank you. That helps a lot.”

  "Are you actually going to sleep?" Celeste said.

  "What better time?" he said, closing his eyes. "I'll need it if we get seen. Runes should work for now. Once we make the channel, you can turn on the motor. Due South.” He quickly programmed the GPS. “Wake me when we're either in France or about to die."

  Celeste sighed rather than saying that wasn't what she meant. Noriko sounded sympathetic. "I don't know how he does that either." It was the last thing he heard for a while.

  When his shoulders were shaken, he spoke before opening his eyes. “So which is it?”

  “France,” said Hobie, sounding somewhat dissatisfied.

  Nils opened his eyes and worked on getting himself up. “Good. You've beached us right in the bay.”

  “Yeah, well, the GPS called it a bay. Figured something was lost in translation. It looks more like a really big beach on the riverside, right by the coast.”

  “If it had looked like a bay when we got here, it would have been really inconvenient, but the timing's almost ideal. Now, if you'll excuse me, Hobie. I've got a lot of encrusted salt to get out of this mask. This boat is going to just end up flotsam, so feel free to weaponize something. Just don't strain yourself." It didn't matter that there'd be better spears at the T'ila than Hobie could make out of an oar. It was good to let him get distracted, as Nils got to work with a small knife and cloth.

  The mask was still off as he walked up to Noriko, who was going through simple stretching exercises and meditative katas, and kissed her cheek. Just the cheek; he allowed himself that before putting the mask back on. No one was in good enough health to risk anything right now.

  “Hand okay?” he asked her gently, knowing full well that a lot more had hurt about the experience than the hand itself.

  “Managing,” Noriko said. “Celeste helped, of course. But while you were asleep, she mostly did a lot of praying. Not praying on anyone, just some really fancy Latin prayers.”

  “Can't really blame her,” Nils said.

  “Yeah, we... didn't exactly subvert anything this time. And this place was really bothering her until she saw that huge church on the hill. She's just staring at it now.”

  “We'll we'd better go get her. Judging by the sun, it'll soon be time to go.”

  And soon they had her. “Nils, this place is covered in warning signs,” Celeste simply. She wasn't even scolding him. Now that was worrying. “We're...we're not staying here, are we?” She said. “We're not going to go up the hill and bring … us … to these people?”

  “We're not staying, Celeste.”

  Noriko looked up. “The whole hill kind of looks like it's on lockdown.”

  “That's because it's about to become an island again,” Nils said. “Everyone get all your things. We're going to open the path.”

  “And how, again, do you know that no one will find the stones?” Hobie said as they gathered everything.

  “Because they'll be moved out of alignment when the bay comes back,” Nils said. “The tide will carry everything away, and nothing will be recoverable together.”

  As they took the pathstones out, he stared for a while at the little engraved stars. Then he cast them onto the sand, watched the blue lines crackle between them. He looked into the blackness until there was light, and the sea air was suffused with a hint of petrichor.

  Hobie, stepped into the portal first, on guard in case of any trouble on the other side. Noriko followed soon after. Celeste went third.

  By that point, the onrush of water was beginning in the distance. High tide time.

  Nils was worn down, with blood on his hands, but he still allowed himself a moment of satisfaction as he stepped through the portal.

  I love it when a plan comes together.

  They stood amid lush greenery, the trees growing close together, and all covered in moss. They all waited a few moments, until the portal closed with a splash of water, the stones washed away out of alignment. It was a lot warmer than anywhere they'd been in ages, and while he was grateful for that, the rapid shift in temperature and air
pressure quickly had his twisted limbs aching anew.

  It took a few moments to realize his brother was talking to him. "Hey, I'm not seeing anything. Any sign of trouble nearby, or can we stop standing guard and start walking?"

  Nils took a deep, hissing breath, and worked on his divinations. "No sign of anything daemonic."

  Noriko and Hobie relaxed, and Celeste checked the GPS. "When everyone is ready, this way."

  "How far?" Hobie asked.

  "Until Mr. Gebramlak sends someone for us," Celeste said. "They'll notice us sooner or later."

  Nils dropped his efforts at avoiding detection, since he still wasn't picking up anything problematic. Noriko had to assist him for a while as he adjusted, but eventually, after picking up a suitable walking stick, he was managing on his own. Dead leaves and moss gave the ground an occasionally carpeted feel. As much nicer as that was than, say, snow or hard-packed stone, he quickly discovered he had to probe ahead of himself with the walking stick to avoid tripping over hidden roots.

  “We haven't been in Africa since we got the sarcophagus.” Hobie was apparently deciding to be conversational now. “The first time we got it, I mean.”

  Nils made an affirming sound and didn't point out that they'd had adult supervision back then. Adult supervision who had later become the reason that they’d needed to go and get everything a second time. It was hard, sometimes, not to think that he should have seen it coming, however little sense that made.

  “Starting to look a little familiar,” Nils said. “But we still need a guide.”

  They could be standing right at it and would still have problems. Nils knew the story that was the least-metaphysically-disruptive way into the realm of the Gisting. He knew the old Guarani song into the realm of the Horizonte Academy. But even if he'd managed to learn it from only seeing it once before, there would have been no way that Nils could dance his way into the boundary realm of the T'ila.

  “Hello,” said a voice. “Making an entrance. Don't stab me and I won't stab you.”